After back-to-back winning seasons and back-to-back January bowl games, momentum surrounding the Indiana football team is at an all-time high.
And, that translates over to the world of recruiting, where head coach Tom Allen and his coaching staff are busy trying to land commitments from the Class of 2022 and beyond.
In December, Indiana landed 14 players for the Class of 2021, a class Rivals ranked 64th in the country.
Rivals noted the Hoosiers have three four-star recruits, nine three-star recruits and an average rating of 3.25 and gave Indiana 978 total points.
The Hoosiers were also ranked 12th in the Big Ten Conference, ahead of Illinois and Purdue.
The class of 2021 included four-star standout Jaquez Smith, a wide receiver from Westlake High School (Ga.), recently selecting Indiana over the likes of Georgia, LSU and Auburn, and four-star standout Donaven McCulley, a quarterback from Lawrence North High School (IN). Also, four-star defensive back Larry Smith has committed.
McCulley was ranked 100th in the Rivals Top 250 for the Class of 2021. Jaquez Smith was ranked 26th in the state of Georgia, while Larry Smith was ranked 45th in Florida.
Indiana has also landed commitments from Cooper Jones (defensive end from Valparaiso High School, Indiana), Josh Sales (offensive lineman from Brownsburg High School, Indiana), Trenten Howland (athlete from Joilet West High School, Ill.), Aaron Steinfeldt (tight end from Bloomington North High School, Indiana), , Jordyn Williams (wide receiver from Trinity Christian School, Texas), David Holloman (running back from Avondale High School, Mich.), Vinny Fiacable (offensive lineman from Bishop Dwenger High School, Indiana), Jordan Grier (athlete from Cedar Grove High School, Ga.), Maurice Freeman (safety from Oscar Smith High School, Va.) and James Evans (punter from New Zealand).
The 2021 class also featured a total of five players from Indiana signing with the Hoosiers, something Allen took pride in on signing day.
"Five of the top 11 kids from Indiana signed with us. We had the core of those guys in this room and I poured my heard out about what we were building here. I knew how close we were and had a bunch of Indiana kids here. I knew how much it meant for them to be an Indiana Hoosier. It is tremendous to see so many of the top kids in the state of Indiana choose to help us continue our upward trajectory. To see the top kids in our state band together as a group and decide to come represent this great university is truly special," Allen said.
As spring practice winds down, the Hoosiers recently got verbal commitments from Arkansas standout and Class of 2022 defensive player Kaiden Turner and Georgia standout Denzel Moore, who is in the Class of 2023.
In addition to Indiana, Turner had offers from the following: Arkansas, Arkansas State, California, Coastal Carolina, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Wake Forest and Washington State.
Moore, an outside linebacker, picked up 24 offers during the recruiting process. In addition to the Hoosiers, Moore picked up offers from the following: Arizona, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Auburn, Coastal Carolina, Florida International, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Toledo and UAB.
Despite the success on the field, Allen says his focus in recruiting will not change.
"I believe the focus hasn't changed. You go through and we are still focused on a certain type of individual we want to play here. The profile hasn't changed but you are trying to improve your roster," Allen said recently.
For Allen, there are a few things he looks for in a potential high school recruit or when looking at a college player who may be in the portal.
"Number one is does he fit with you and from a physical perspective, helps improve your team. We want to elevate every time we bring a guy in and helps make you better. I don't care what position or year, you want a guy who makes you better. Bigger, faster, stronger. You want to get guys. Length and more size is a positive thing and so is speed. Within the realm of guys who fit with us and guys I want to coach and want on this team are guys who are smart, tough and dependable. We are smarter coaches when we have better players. Guys who can make plays in space, tackle in space and make guys miss in space. We are trying to do it at a higher level in regards to how guys play on gameday and help reach our goal of winning championships," Allen said.
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